Get to know some of the ULI San Francisco members who work hard behind the scenes to develop the events and initiatives our District Council is known for. These industry leaders come from a variety of real estate land use sectors and lend their expertise and time to drive the work of our committees. We’ve asked these committee co-chairs to answer questions around their involvement with ULI San Francisco.

Sean Whitfield
Co-Chair, San Francisco Programs Committee

Q. How did you first get involved with ULI and your committee?
After joining ULI SF in 2008 and doing a 2 year stint in the Seattle chapter during grad school, I returned to the Bay Area in 2013. From there, I joined a friend on the Capital Markets subcommittee and then worked my way up to Co-chair of SF Programs, all of which I’ve valued tremendously.

Q. What is your favorite ULI memory or event?
The one that stands out is the pre-Fall Meeting Office and Industrial Product Council dinner in Boston that I was invited to attend as a guest. It was so great to spend time with some great national real estate leaders and hear about what ULI and their longstanding Product Council membership has meant to them.

Q. What keeps you engaged with ULI SF and what are you most excited about in the near future?
It’s the community that sets ULI apart for me. I’ve loved building relationships through the various events and leadership opportunities, and I’m excited about resuming those in-person post-Covid. We face a multitude of challenges as an industry, and it’s these relationships that will help us through them.

Q. What’s your leadership philosophy/style?
I once heard that people aren’t going to support what they didn’t help to create, and I couldn’t agree more. Feedback to me is incredibly important. I’ve always tried to help create programming around that feedback and not lead in a vacuum.

Q. What do you hope to achieve in the next year?
I hope to help craft events that are meaningful, topical, and most importantly fun. I truly believe there’s significant pent up demand for social interaction from our collective Covid experience, and my goal is to help ULI capture that demand and grow their membership.

Q. What’s front of mind for you right now?
NIMBYism and housing in the Bay Area (and California) are something I think about regularly. The housing supply/demand imbalance is a big problem, especially as the millennials grow up and retirees look to right-size, and will only get worse without creative solutions and state and local leadership.

Q. Outside of work and ULI, what do you enjoy doing?
I’ve always been a big golfer, and the last year was no exception. It’s a game of decorum, honesty, and comradery. It has allowed me to deepen my relationships and grow in my profession. I’m particularly excited about the renewed interest in the game and hope it continues.